Tuesday, 29 October 2013

Sorry I've been so quiet lately, guys! Everything has been a little hectic since I returned from Wales (I will blog about that soon, I promise) and I've been a little distracted. However, I have something awesome to share with you all.

On Saturday 26th October, I visited the Avalon Faery Fayre in Glastonbury. This was my second visit to the bi-annual fayre, which is hosted in Glastonbury in the Spring and Autumn of each year. My best friend (whom I went to Wales with) is a fairy fanatic, so she invited me to attend a few years ago, so she could see and meet her favourite artist Jasmine Beckett-Griffith. We went along and had a really good laugh. Many trips to Glastonbury later, we attended for the second time at the weekend, and it was equally fantastic.

It's a really happy event, and isn't just about fairies (although that's the main theme, obviously). There are lots of very talented artists exhibiting and selling their work, along with jewellery, scented items, gifts and ornaments, amongst other things. The atmosphere is fantastic, and everyone always seems to be having a great time, which is really refreshing!

Meeting Jasmine for the second time was really lovely. I was pretty unaware of her work the first time Kirsty and I attended the Avalon Faery Fayre of 2011, but since then I am an avid follower on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and love seeing all of her updates! I couldn't resist buying myself a little signed print, which will end up in my scrapbook like the one I bought a couple of years ago. She's a great person though and really happy to talk to fans, sign items, and talk about her work. I've really grown to appreciate her style, since first being introduced to her. I also think it's really lovely that she flew in from her home in Celebration, Florida to attend the fayre and meet some of her fans in the UK. It was great to see you again, Jasmine!

We also got to meet another artist, Josephine Wall, for the second time. Josephine's art absolutely blows me away. The detail and complexity of her paintings is out of this world, and it simply can't be captured to full effect on a camera. However, I did snap a couple of pictures of her latest paintings (she had two originals on display, worth in excess of £4000 each)! My favourite has to be the mermaid on the seahorse (opposite). The detailing in the hair is absolutely gorgeous, and I really fell hard for the colour palette. Josephine's gallery is actually only about half an hour from Dorchester, where I live, so at some point we intend to go and visit her at "home", so to speak.

Of course, Kirsty and I fully intend to plan another visit for next year's October Fayre. In addition to being really good fun, I will never turn down a trip to Glastonbury. On this occasion I ended up buying a candle at the fayre, and two scarves in some of the other amazing shops in the town centre - Padma Glastonbury (one of my favourite shops on earth), and Bedlam Boutique!

So there you have it. I am still alive, but just have a lot of personal things going on at the moment. I'm still frantically crocheting squares for Dave's blanket (now somewhere in the region of 140) and have actually started assembly, so I'll take some photos of that and share them soon!